Page 250 - 83-BOOK1

LOT 1307
Extraordinary Historic Cased Pair of Chiseled and Relief Carved Gastinne-Renette Percussion Dueling/Target Exhibition Pistols with Coordinating Suite of Accouterments Displayed at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, the First World’s Fair -A) Gastinne-Renette Exhibition Percussion Pistol - Serial no. 564, 45 cal., 10 1/8 inch part octagon bbl., bright finish, ebony stock. Louis-Julien Gastinne-Renette (1812-1885) was one of the leading Parisian gunmakers in the mid-19th century and was the gunmaker of Emperor Napoleon III and the king of Spain. He took over the shop of his father-in-law in 1840, and won numerous awards at French national and international exhibitions. The firm was famous for offering dueling lessons with pistols in their shooting gallery in the center of Paris until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and were well-known for their pistols. Rock Island Auction Company is
no stranger to the exceptional exhibition pistols of Gastinne-Renette of Paris, but their pistols never fail to impress. Several pairs from his shop are in renowned collections around the world, including two pairs currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and pairs from
the Dr. Gerald Klaz that RIAC sold last year. In the included copy of the relevant page of the rough draft of Tom Lewis’ book, he noted, “They show some of the finest steel work of anything I own.”This pair is marked “EXPon” and “de London 1851” in script on the upper side flats in the midsection of the barrels indicating they were on display at the historic Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in London in 1851, popularly known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition. This was the first of the official World’s Fairs marking the beginning of an era of absolutely incredible exhibition arms by gunmakers both in Europe and the United States.
248